ABSTRACT

One hundred four species of living benthic foraminifers representing 73 genera were encountered in sediments and on hard substrates collected from the submerged coral reef and biostrome at West Flower Garden bank, on the outer Texas-Louisiana continental shelf. Three habitat associations can be recognized: 1) An association of abundant sediment-dwelling species is formed by Cassidulina sp., Loxostomum limbatum forma costulatum, Pateoris sp., Peneroplis proteus, Quinqueloculina sp. A, Quinqueloculina sp. B, Rosalina sp. and Rotaliammina trumbulli; 2) An association of abundant hard-substrate-dwelling species is formed by Carpenteria utricularis, Carterina spiculotesta, Gypsina plana, Homotrema rubra, Planogypsina squamiformis, Planorbulina acervalis, Planorbulina mediterranensis, Planorbulinoides retinaculatus, Rotaliammina squamiformis, and Sporadotrema cylindrica; and 3) An association dwelling in abundance both in the sediments and on hard substrates is formed by Amphistegina gibbosa, Eponides repandus, Miliolinella circularis, Neoconorbina orbicularis, Spirillina vivipara, and Tretomphalus atlanticus. Many of the important constituents of the West Flower Garden bank foraminiferal community are known only sparsely from other Gulf and Caribbean reefs. This apparent zoogeographic difference probably arises from the contrast between our use of self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) sampling techniques at West Flower Garden bank, and the use of grab samples by most other investigators.